BXBX NOVEL Chapter 173: I'm sorry Aki [2/2]
I raised my head and tried to hit her chin, but missed. The Japanese ninja spun her sword and changed her grip to a reverse one. With the blade lined up with her elbow, Aki tried to decapitate me in one move.
"{CODE}!"
Time slowed in response to my roar. With a split second before the edge of the katana sliced across my neck, I countered.
"{Withdraw} All M26s! {Rewind}!"
"{Rewind}!"
I disappeared into the light, returning to my save point a quarter mile from where Aki and I had last fought. As I tried to regain my bearings, a steel blade impaled me from behind. I vomited blood as all my organs began to bleed and rupture.
"Blech! What?!"
Aki's voice came from behind me as I felt her breath on my neck.
"Smith-san, {Rewind} may be powerful, but it has one fatal weakness. And that is that I know exactly where you would be after rewinding. I was already well prepared for this moment."
Explosions from the grenades belatedly shook the ground as I continued to bleed out. Aki plunged another knife into my collarbone as I began to gasp for air.
"It's over Smith-san, you lost."
"Suck my dick Aki. {Replace}."
Invoking my latest {Fate}, my body vanished into particles of light. My body recreated itself less than 50 meters away. From my current position, I saw Aki looking around in panic.
I drew the P30L and Ruger MK II from their holsters and shot Aki in the back.
"What? How?!"
Despite being attacked from behind, the ninja lowered her body and parried my shots. The 9×19mm Parabellum and .22 LR rounds were all cut in half in the air in a superhuman feat of agility.
Not to be outdone, I dropped the MK II and drew my revolver. And shot her again with .44 Magnums, though the .44 was far more powerful than the previous pistol ammo, I was confident in it for another reason.
Aki again sliced my bullets like clay targets as she advanced. In a fit of rage, the woman roared in a bloodthirsty voice.
"This battle is over, Smith-san!"
Ignoring her angry roar, I continued firing until blinding flashes erupted from the muzzle of the 629.
"I agree!"
Unaware of the difference, Aki tried to cut the bullet apart, only to have the flash shatter her weapon. It didn't stop there and pierced her left shoulder. A second blessed bullet ripped through her heart in the same instant.
But Aki didn't fall and suddenly erupted in a blaze of fierce flames.
"{SOUL BREAKER}!"
The blade kitsune stared at me as she burned alive. Her hair danced like wild fire while her eyes shone like purple suns. The woman shifted her body into a drawing stance. Unwilling to wait, I summoned the M24 and prepared to fire.
'So it was real. An attack that consumed the user's entire soul as compensation. {Soul Breaker}. How reckless.'
Bella's words echoed in my mind once again as I watched the mystical monster in front of me. An attack that meant she wanted to die. I must have managed to hit her soulgem, so Aki made one last attempt.
In the next second, Aki created a flash of violet light with a stroke of her sword. The slash flew towards me like an enraged phoenix. In response, I pulled the trigger of the M24 Sniper weapon system.
My blessed 7.62 round and Aki's sword slash collided in the air like the epic clashes in Dragon Ball.
"I'm sorry Aki, I have no intention of dying."
I put the stock of the M24 on my shoulder and emptied the magazine of blessed bullets. Aki's {Soul Breaker} slash lost steam as more and more blessed bullets tore it apart.
With my fifth and final bullet, the momentum of my attack finally broke Aki's. As the light shone brighter than the sun, my fearsome opponent was engulfed in a dazzling display of light.
A few seconds after the brightness faded, our surroundings went dark. Only now did I realize that night had already begun. I quickly tried to find Aki and saw a burned corpse with nothing below the waist and one arm.
I knelt down by Aki's side and prepared to force her to swallow some {heal} tablets. The corpse then turned to me, and I gently helped it up as Aki's voice echoed through the air with soul.
{Smith-san, that was a magnificent battle. You are truly everything I hoped you would be.}
"Shut up Aki, I have curatives here. Drink them or I will make you."
{Fufu, Smith-san, you are far too kind. I really tried to kill you, you know?}
Not wanting to answer, I bit my tongue and kissed the lips of Aki's corpse. I used my tongue to paint the insides of her mouth with my blood.
{W-what are you doing Smith-san! I betrayed you! What are you even trying to do? Do you even intend to violate my corpse?!}
"I won, you lost. As of today, you belong to me. Until I say so, I forbid you to die. I need you, Aki."
{Smith-san, if you go on like this, I will fall helplessly in love with you.}
"Do as you wish. Now call my {Fate} Aki. I command you to return to me."
{Mou! Why did I have to fall in love with a tyrant?! Fine! I hope you don't regret this!}
"..."
{Replace}
The burned corpse in my arms disappeared at Aki's use of my {Fate}. A new silhouette appeared before me, kneeling like a knight before her lord.
With the beauty of the bladed kitsune restored and her wounds healed, she exclaimed with a fierce voice.
"Aki Miroku from this day on pledges her sword and her life to John Smith. Until my soulgem breaks or the Hellsgate breaks open I will follow no other. I beg you please accept my vow, master!"
"I accept. Welcome back, Aki."